Yemisi Izuora
President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, with 29 State Governors and their Deputies took oath of office yesterday as Nigeria marked Inauguration Day to bring in newly-elected officials that will rule for the next four years.
Seven States, which include Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Osun, Ekiti, Kogi and Ondo – with their serving Governors in place and had no elections were not part of the inauguration.
Meanwhile, seventeen of the Governors who were sworn in are for second terms in office while 12 of them are coming in for the first time.
All the Governors who took their oaths are male, with only 4 female Deputy-Governors in Ogun, Enugu, Kaduna and Rivers States, which reflects a gender issue in Nigeria’s electoral process.
Fifteen of the Governors represent the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, while 14 are of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
The Governors and Deputy-Governors who took their oaths of office included
1. ABIA – OKEZIE VICTOR IKPEAZU (PDP)
DEPUTY: UDE OKO CHUKWU
2. ADAMAWA – UMARU AHMADU (PDP)
DEPUTY: CROWTHER SETH
3. AKWA IBOM – UDOM EMMANUEL (PDP)
DEPUTY: MOSES FRANK EKPO
4. BAUCHI – BALA ABDULKADIR MOHAMMED (PDP)
DEPUTY: BABA TELA
5. BENUE – SAMUEL IORAER ORTOM (PDP)
DEPUTY: BENSON OCHOLUJE ABOUNU
6. BORNO – BABA GANA UMARA (APC)
DEPUTY: UMARU USMAN KADAFUR
7. CROSS RIVER – AYADE BENEDICT BENGIOUSHUYE (PDP)
DEPUTY: IVARA EJEMOT ESU
8. DELTA – IFEANYI ARTHUR OKOWA (PDP)
DEPUTY: KINGSLEY BURUTU OTUARO
9. EBONYI – DAVID UMAHI NWEZE (PDP)
DEPUTY: IGWE KELECHI ERIC
10. ENUGU – IFEANYI LAWRENCE UGWUANYI (PDP)
DEPUTY: EZEILO CECILIA OBIOMA
11. GOMBE – MOHAMMED INUWA YAHAYA (APC)
DEPUTY: MANASSAH DANIEL JATAU
12. IMO – IHEDIOHA EMEKA (PDP)
DEPUTY: IRONA ALPHONSUS
13. JIGAWA – MOHAMMED BADARU ABUBAKAR (APC)
DEPUTY: UMAR ALHAJI NAMADI
14. KADUNA – NASIR AHMAD EL-RUFAI (APC)
DEPUTY: HADIZA SABUWA BALARABE
15. KANO – GANDUJE ABDULLAHI UMAR (APC)
DEPUTY: NASIRU YUSUF GAWUNA
16. KATSINA – AMINU BELLO MASARI (APC)
DEPUTY: MANNIR YAKUBU
17. KEBBI – ABUBAKAR ATIKU BAGUDU (APC)
DEPUTY: SAMAILA DABAI YOMBE
18. KWARA – ABDULRAHMAN ABBULRAZAQ (APC)
DEPUTY: KAYODE ALABI
19. LAGOS – BABAJIDE OLUSOLA SANWO-OLU (APC)
DEPUTY: KADRI OBAFEMI HAMZAT
20. NASARAWA – AUDU ALHAJI SULE
(APC)
DEPUTY: EMMANUEL AGBADU AKABE
21. NIGER – SANI ABUBAKAR BELLO (APC)
DEPUTY: AHMED MUHAMMAD KETSO
22. OGUN – ADEDAPO ABIODUN (APC)
DEPUTY: SALAKO-OYEDELE NOIMOT OLUROTIMI
23. OYO – OLUSEYI MAKINDE (PDP)
DEPUTY: RAUFU ADEREMI OLANIYAN
24. PLATEAU – SIMON BAKO LALONG (APC)
DEPUTY: SONI GWANLE TYODEN
25. RIVERS – NYESOM WIKE EZENWO (PDP)
DEPUTY: HARRY-BANIGO IPALIBO
26. SOKOTO – TAMBUWAL AMINU WAZIRI (PDP)
DEPUTY: MANNIR MUHAMMAD DAN IYA
27. TARABA – DARIUS DICKSON ISHAKU (PDP)
DEPUTY: HARUNA MANU
28. YOBE – MAI MALA BUNI (APC)
DEPUTY: IDI BARDE GUBANA
29. ZAMFARA – BELLO MATAWALLE (PDP)
DEPUTY: MAHDI GUSAU